Do You Want A Muffin

From the moment Stiles woke up that morning, he knew it was going to be a bad day. Now don't take that the wrong way, nothing went horribly wrong. There were no supernatural bad guys to research and avoid. No Mr. Harris picking on him, it was Saturday after all. No, it was none of that, in fact it was a nice sunny, cool day, and most people were outside making the most of it. To Stiles though it might as well have been raining, it would match his mood at least. The same mood he is in every year on this exact day. The anniversary of his mother's death.

Waking up that morning, Stiles decided that no matter how alone he wanted to be on that day, he did not want to be alone at his house, his mother's house, where the memories of her were around every corner. His dad had already left for work, he always went in early and came home late on this day, so Stiles decided that he would go to a little bakery a couple towns over from Beacon Hills where there was little chance of seeing anyone he knew except for Derek who owned the bakery. He knew though that Derek would leave him alone because he also knew what it felt like to lose part of your family.

So, after showering and generally getting ready for the day, Stiles left a note for his dad, just in case he decided to stop at the house throughout the day, and got in his beat up blue jeep and drove out of the small town of Beacon Hills. Lost in his thoughts, it took Stiles a moment to realize that he was at the bakery. Getting out of his jeep, he walked up to the door and opened it, listening to the ring of the bell that signified someone had come in.

The moment he walked inside, Derek's only employee, Stiles really needed to talk to him about hiring more help, Jess looked up from her perch behind the counter. "Stiles!" she exclaimed happily.

"Hey Jess, how's business been?" he asked just to be polite, he was good friends with Jess and didn't want to be rude just because he was in a crappy mood.

"Business has been fine, which is surprising considering how grumpy the owner is," she said, raising her voice at the end, unnecessarily of course but it's not like she needs to know that, so Derek could hear her from the kitchen. Stiles chuckled a bit then moved to sit down at a table in the corner. "Your usual?" she asked him, looking a little concerned at Stiles' lack of response.

Stiles shook his head, "I'll have a croissant and a black coffee today." It was his mom's favorite breakfast. Jess just nodded, slightly more concerned and went about getting his order ready. Setting it down at his table, she was tempted to ask what was wrong but decided against it, feeling like he needed some time to himself at the moment. She would go talk to him during her break in about an hour if he still seemed down.

About half an hour later the bell above the door went off again causing Jess to look up. She smiled when she saw it was her roommate and best friend, Jo. She went around the counter to hug the other girl, even though they had honestly just seen each other that morning before Jess left for work. Jo grumbled about the hug but didn't pull away, like always. Stiles, who had looked up as well when the bell went off, gave a little wave and a "hey, Jo" in greeting, then went back to staring off into space like he had been doing the past half hour. Jo looked a little alarmed at the normally hyper teen who was more subdued than she had ever seen him.

Stiles, who had zoned out again had decided that the one good thing about ADD was the fact that his brain didn't really like to focus on one thing for too long, especially if it was sad, the fact that he had forgotten to take his Adderall that morning also helping a bit. Unfortunately, that didn't help with his mood, but he was used to it by now. Jo, who had just stopped by for a coffee before heading to work herself stared at the boy in concern before Jess tapped her shoulder, bringing her back to the present. "What can I get you?" Jess asked her, a little quieter than usual.

"Just a coffee, with"

"Loads of sugar and cream" Jess finished for her, knowing her order by heart.

"You know me so well" Jo joked. Jess got Jo's coffee, and after a quick see you later, Jo headed for the door to go to work.

"Don't get eaten by aliens!" Jess called after her, to which Jo just rolled her eyes and left the bakery. Stiles, who had not really been paying attention, chuckled a bit at that, but not as much as he usually would, which had been Jess' intention. After glancing at the clock and deciding it would be ok to start her break a few minutes, or well 15 minutes, early, Jess walked over and sat down across from Stiles. Stiles stared at her expectantly. "So what has been bothering you?" she asked.

Stiles looked down at that, it wasn't as though he wasn't expecting the question, he had actually been expecting it since he walked in. He was just hoping she would wait a little longer before she asked, like maybe until next year. "Nothing," he mumbled, causing her to frown.

"Oh don't give me that, something is bothering you, and whatever it is you can tell me, because we are all in this together."

"And we can work this out?" Stiles asked, finally cracking a real smile. Jess, an avid pun lover, only brought out her High School Musical puns on special occasions, as in every other time she saw Stiles, but that's beside the point.

"Because we are fabulous!" Jess said, happy to have been able to make him smile. "Seriously though, you can tell me anything."

Stiles sighed, maybe talking about it to someone would actually help. "It's just, today is the anniversary of my mother's death, and even though it's been a while, it still hits me hard every year. So every year I just kind of go someplace and be alone with my thoughts for the day."

Jess, who had honestly not really been expecting that sat there for a moment before finally saying something. "I'm really sorry, Stiles."

"Don't be, you didn't know. I think you would have liked my mom though, she was kind and funny and she always loved a good pun."

"She sounds like a great lady, and a lot like you," Jess said with a sad smile.

"People always say I'm a lot like her, I always hope it's just a little true because she was the best person I ever knew."

"From what you have told me, you are a lot like her, even down to your great taste in jokes, but can I say one thing?"

"Sure, go ahead," Stiles says.

"I know I didn't know your mom, but if what you say is true, and you are even a little like her, I don't think she would want you to be alone, especially today. I think she would want you to be with someone who makes you happy, even if you don't do anything, just being with someone helps," Jess tells him.

Stiles sits there and thinks about it for a while. "You are probably right," he tells her, "thanks," he says with a small smile.

"Anytime, it's what I'm here for, because as we all know I am awesome!" Jess jokes with a grin, getting up to go back to work, her break having long ended.

Stiles laughs, a real laugh this time "And don't let anyone tell you differently!" he calls as she walks away. Stiles is just sitting there, contemplating who he wants to call and ask if they want to hang out when someone else sits across from him.

He looks up and sees Derek sitting there with a look that says he heard the whole thing. Instead of bringing it up again however, he pushes a plate towards Stiles and asks "Do you want a muffin?" and Stiles smiles his first real smile of the day.

Sooooo… yea… I wrote another one, my friends convinced me to write more one-shots and post them… I have no clue why I listen to them… But anyway, this story is dedicated to Kendadra who gave me the idea.